Plantaganet Palliser, Prime Minister of England - a man of power and prestige, with all the breeding and inherited wealth that goes with it - is appalled at the inexorable rise of Ferdinand Lopez. An exotic impostor, seemingly from nowhere, Lopez has society at his feet, while well-connected ladies vie with each other to exert influence on his behalf - even Palliser’s own wife, Lady Glencora.

The Duke's Children

Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium and former Prime Minister of England, is widowed and wracked by grief. Struggling to adapt to life without his beloved Lady Glencora, he works hard to guide and support his three adult children. Palliser soon discovers, however, that his own plans for them are very different from their desires. Sent down from university in disgrace, his two sons quickly begin to run up gambling debts.

Phineas Redux

In the fourth of the ‘Palliser’ stories, Trollope follows Phineas Finn’s return to the dangerous world of Westminster politics. When his political rival is murdered, Phineas is thrown under suspicion and eventually finds himself standing trial at the Old Bailey. The situation is complicated by the presence of two women in his life: his old flame Lady Laura, whose estranged husband is determined to destroy Phineas’s reputation, and the wealthy and enigmatic widow, Madame Max.

The Eustace Diamonds

Who owns the Eustace Diamonds? Lizzie Eustace claims that Sir Florian Eustace, her late husband, gave them to her. But Mr Camperdown, the family solicitor, insists that they are an heirloom, to be passed down from generation to generation. Lizzie is both beautiful and clever, yet Mr Camperdown believes her to be a scheming liar. And Mr Camperdown is right! The battle for the diamonds rages until a robbery intervenes and they disappear. Or do they...?

Phineas Finn

In Phineas Finn, the second of the Palliser novels, Trollope balances the rival demands of public and private life, entangling political ambitions with the experiences of love. Phineas Finn, an irresistible but penniless young Irish barrister enters Parliament and comes to London leaving behind him an Irish sweetheart, Mary Flood-Jones. In London, Phineas wins friends on all sides and is admitted to high society.

Can You Forgive Her?

Trollope inextricably binds together the issues of parliamentary election and marriage, of politics and privacy. The values and aspirations of the governing stratum of Victorian society are ruthlessly examined and none remains unscathed. But it is above all on the predicament of women that Trollope focuses. ‘What should a woman do with her life?’ asks Alice Vavasor of herself, and this theme is echoed by every other woman in the novel.

Doctor Thorne

Frank Gresham, son of the impoverished squire of Greshambury, has fallen in love with penniless Mary Thorne. Despite the promptings of his family to consider a Miss Dunstable, heiress to a fortune, Frank's affections persist, and the humane Doctor Thorne, as Mary's protector, must confront the prejudices of the mid-Victorian society.

Framley Parsonage

In the fourth of the Barsetshire Chronicles, the values of a Victorian gentleman, the young clergyman Mark Robarts, are put to the test. Through a combination of naivety and social ambition, Robarts is compromised and brought to the brink of ruin. Trollope tells his story with great compassion, offsetting the drama with his customary humour. Like all the Barsetshire novels, it is an extraordinarily evocative picture of everyday life in 19th-century England.

The Small House At Allington

Lily is the niece of Squire Dale, a morose and rather unimaginative old bachelor who lives at the 'Great House' at Allington. His sister-in-law lives at the adjacent 'Small House', with her two daughters Lily and Belle, and the action centres on the relations between the two houses and on the romantic entanglements of the two girls.

The Way We Live Now

In this world of bribes, vendettas and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel... a bloated swindler... a vile city ruffian'.

The Warden: Timothy West Version

The first of Trollope's Barsetshire novels, The Warden concerns the moral dilemma of the Reverend Septimus Harding, who finds himself at the centre of a bitter conflict between defenders of Church privilege and the reformers of the mid-Victorian period.

Dr Wortle's School

Can it be right to persist in a bigamous marriage? Mr Peacocke, a Classical scholar, has come to Broughtonshire with his beautiful American wife to live as a schoolmaster. But when the blackmailing brother of her first husband - a reprobate from Louisiana - appears at the school gates, their dreadful secret is revealed and the county is scandalised.

Phineas Redux: Palliser, Book 4

His beloved wife having died in childbirth, Phineas Finn finds Irish society and his job as a poorhouse inspector dull and unsatisfying, particularly after the excitement of his former career as a Member of Parliament. Back in England, the Whigs are determined to overturn the Tory majority in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since Finn had once been considered the most promising of the younger set, he is encouraged to run for office again. Bribery, romance, and murder are peppered throughout this Trollope novel.

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

On the death of his son, Sir Harry Hotspur had determined to give his property to his daughter Emily. She is beautiful and as strong-willed and high-principled as her father. Then she falls in love with the black-sheep of the family.

The Duke’s Children

The brilliant conclusion to the Palliser novels, this touching story follows the elderly Duke of Omnium, the former prime minister of England, as he struggles to overcome his grief at the loss of his beloved wife, Lady Glencora. To complicate matters, he must also deal with the willfulness of his three adult children as he tries to guide and support them - his plans for them are quite different from their own. While his two sons, sent down from university in disgrace, rack up gambling debts, the duke’s only daughter yearns to marry the poor son of a country squire.

The Eustace Diamonds: The Palliser Novels, Book 3

The third novel in the Palliser series, The Eustace Diamonds is a satirical study of the influence of money and greed on human relationships in Victorian society. The story follows two contrasting women and their courtships. Lizzie Greystock and Lucy Morris are both hampered in their love affairs by their lack of money. Lizzie’s trickery and deceit, however, contrast with Lucy’s constancy.

The Last Chronicle of Barset

This last novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series involves Mr. Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, who is accused of theft when he uses a large check to pay off his debts. The scandal fiercely divides the citizens of Barsetshire and threatens to tear apart Mr. Crawley's family.

Trollope: An Autobiography

Anthony Trollope is most famous for his portrait of the professional and landed classes of Victorian England, especially in his Palliser and Barsetshire novels. But he was also the author of one of the most fascinating autobiographies of the nineteenth century. Trollope was born in 1815, the product of a formidable mother and a tragically unsuccessful father who was socially ambitious for his sons. He was the victim of vicious bullying at Harrow and Winchester. But he had inherited his mother's determination, and managed later to carve out a successful career in the General Post Office while devoting every spare moment to writing. How he paid his groom to wake him every morning at 5:30 a.m. and disciplined himself to write 250 words every fifteen minutes has become part of literary legend. His efforts resulted in over sixty books, a sizable fortune, and fame, and his autobiography. Trollope looks back on his life with satisfaction. Perhaps as interesting as the facts he reveals and the opinions he records about Dickens and George Eliot, politics and the civil service are the judgments he passes on his own character.

The Small House at Allington

The Small House at Allington introduces Trollope's charming heroine, Lily Dale, to the Barsetshire scene. Lily is the niece of Squire Dale, an embittered old bachelor living in the main house on his property at Allington. He has loaned an adjacent small house rent free to his widowed sister-in-law and her daughters, Lily and Bell. But the relations between the two houses are strained, affecting the romantic entanglements of the girls.

Can You Forgive Her?

Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six Palliser novels. Here Trollope examines parliamentary election and marriage, politics and privacy. As he dissects the Victorian upper class, issues and people shed their pretenses under his patient, ironic probe.

Publisher's Summary

Plantaganet Palliser, Prime Minister of England - a man of power and prestige, with all the breeding and inherited wealth that goes with it - is appalled at the inexorable rise of Ferdinand Lopez. An exotic impostor, seemingly from nowhere, Lopez has society at his feet, while well-connected ladies vie with each other to exert influence on his behalf - even Palliser’s own wife, Lady Glencora. But when the interloper makes a socially advantageous marriage, Palliser must decide whether to stand by his wife’s support for Lopez in a by-election or leave him to face exposure as a fortune-hunting adventurer.

A novel of social, sexual and domestic politics, 'The Prime Minister' raises one of the most enduring questions in government - whether a morally scrupulous gentleman can make an effective leader.

The problem alluded to by other reviews appears to've been corrected, as I heard the complete novel. The incomparable Timothy West illuminates Trollope's prose in such a way that makes the experience of listening to it far more rewarding than silent reading ever could.

they have "escalated this to the Audio Bug Department to be corrected, and will continue to monitor it's status. Depending upon the extent of the audio problem, we may be able to resolve this issue internally within about 2 weeks, however if we have to request a new copy of the title this may delay the time until it is resolved.

In the mean time, if you prefer not to wait until the file is repaired, please let us know and we will be able to remove the book from your library and issue you a full refund. " (call 1-888-283-5051 or email Customer Service)

This should have been a good book and the first 14 hours really were, with an interesting villain and some political & social maneuverings by old friends from the earlier Palliser novels. But honestly, everything was settled and finished after 14 hours, and there 7 hours left to go. Trollope's heroines do sometimes get tedious with their insistence on morbid self-punishment but this heroine takes the cake. She goes on and on until no one in the book cares any longer what happens to her and we readers stopped caring way before that. It seems like Trollope couldn't stop dragging it out. Indeed, the book doesn't really end. It just peters away from exhaustion.

That said, Simon Vance does a great reading. He has a deep and delicious voice perfect for Victorian novels, and distinguishes his various characters' voices and accents with a light but effective touch.

I was very disappointed in this purchase of The Prime Minister. The audio is only a small part of the novel and yet I was charged full price. That is why I give it only one star. However, Timothy West is an excellent reader, if only he were reading the entire novel. Previously I have purchased and downloaded all of the audiobooks of Anthony Trollope. Many of them last more than twenty hours reading time and they were not sold in small parcels of the book. I hope that Audible will remedy this.

The narration of this wonderful book by Timothy West is simply superb. Because he is so obviously absorbed in the story and the characters, the whole experience is rich and authentic. Timothy is such a consumate actor that he sweeps the listener into Trollope's world. Simply sublime! Interesting insight into the isolation of the lonely and self-doubting leader. This is a fascinating installment in this brilliant and engrossing series. Emily's resistance became a little tiresome but Trollope was probably endeavouring to protect the honour of his heroine. What a marvellous team: Timothy and Trollope! This series is pure bliss!

This is not the complete book; rather, it is less than 1/3. I am addicted to the Palliser series as read by Timothy West, and was extremely disappointed when I got to the end of the 5-hour file sold by Audible and the book was abruptly cut off in the middle of a scene. Further research confirmed that the complete book is at least three times longer.

I hope that Audible will fix this soon, since Trollope as read by Timothy West is a pure delight. Audible, while you are at it, please add the The Duke's Children, the last book in the series!! And please let us know when you will be providing us with the rest of the book that we purchased!!!

Hi all. I'm in my 50's (that's relevant, i think), and I favor fiction. I like the british sensibility, and was introduced to the Forsyte Saga through audible ... loved it! I happen to also like Chinese writers, but they are not well represented yet at audible. Looking to follow readers with similar tastes ...

I've really come to appreciate Anthony Trollope, and love his dry sense of humor. The plot for this one is, I think, the weakest of the books in this series. I give it 3 stars ... Kind of drags at times, but on the plus side not much about parliamentary procedure.

I liked the Plantagenet Palliser storyline in that people today must deal with decisions regarding life quality versus job prestige. I was a bit disappointed with the Ferdinand Lopez storyline. I really did not feel that it was characteristic of that type of character to choose that way of ending life. I think that he would more convincingly have taken some others with him.Nevertheless, as always, a very entertaining book! Well read by Timothy West.

This sprawling novel follows two main plots and sets of characters. Previous readers of the Palliser novels find Plantagenet Palliser, now Duke of Omnium and a member of the House of Lords, inveigled into becoming prime minister of an unstable coalition government. Meanwhile his wife, the inimitable Glencora, decides to reinvent herself as a grand political hostess, to her husband's exasperation and ultimate misfortune.

The second plot strand follows the story of Ferdinand Lopez, one of Trollope's most memorable villains. When Lopez courts Emily Wharton, her barrister father initially forbids the marriage to a "greasy Portuguese, probably a Jew", and indulges in one of the memorably xenophobic outbursts in the annals of fiction. Emily accuses her father of prejudice and eventually wins the right to marry Lopez; yet despite his racism, her father turns out to have been right about Lopez's character and motives. Trollope is always a keen observer of human psychology, and in Lopez he presents an extraordinary portrait of a narcissistic personality, who over the course of the novel subjects his wife and her father to escalating psychological abuse, while piece by piece losing his own grip on reality. When Lopez decides to enter politics as a liberal candidate, and is encouraged by the meddling Glencora Palliser, the two plot lines converge in a scandal which threatens to bring down Palliser's government.

I adore Trollope, and the Palliser novels are among the jewels in his crown. The Prime Minister contains some thrilling moments, but is a little marred by the last section of the book. After Lopez's death, which is surely one of the highpoints of the novel, the widowed Emily struggles to re-establish herself. As always, Trollope is psychologically spot on when he describes the victim mentality she has developed as a result of her husband's psychological abuse; but listening to her droning on about how she deserved the way she was treated becomes terribly tedious when repeated in chapter after chapter. Lopez might have been a bad egg, but he made the plot go like a firecracker when he was onstage, and without him, the storyline can't but suffer the loss. The political sections are amongst the best in these novels, but again, the most exciting bits occur earlier, and the last section altogether feels as if, like the coalition government, it is running out of steam. For this reason, I am only giving four stars instead of five to the actual story, but it's still a great listen, and no one can read these books quite like the incredible Timothy West.

Until last week if you bought this you only got the first third of the book. It is now all present and correct.

To me it is one of the most interesting of the Palliser series, contrasting an upright man trying to lead the nation with the bounders taking over the world at, as Trollope saw it, a time of moral decay. There is an arch-cad, involved in double dealings and who gets into Parliament. Lady Glencora is drawn into shady dealings, scandal is whipped up by the gutter press and falls on the Prime Minister's head. It was written shortly after a massive financial crash which led to a Great Depression which lasted over 20 years.

Sound familiar? So it should. And because Trolllope is a great psychologist it is gripping stuff, which really makes me feel there is nothing new in the world, though I will admit that the ingenue (Emily) is dull.

Superbly read by Timothy West, as ever.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Patricia

Kendal, United Kingdom

8/30/11

Overall

"A promise of greater things"

Dear Julie (in Sydney): I'm not surprised you find this book weak as there's only one volume there - 3 or 4 are missing. I've contacted Audible to investigate and make good. I've given 2 stars in anticipation, but hopefully to be increased to 5 as with the others so far in the series.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Patricia

Kingsbridge, United Kingdom

8/8/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Trollope as relevant as ever"

I believe that John Major is a great fan of Trollope and he must have grimaced at times when reading The Prime Minister. What insights from the 19th century! Striving in a limited way to satisfy his party but still having the arrogance of the aristocracy, Plantagenet Palliser made almost every error in the political book.

No wonder Lady Glencora found him hard to love, with his stubborn rigidity and lack of humour. A complete trial of a husband but one she had tried to please by making their grand property attractive to his supporters. A mistake but well-intentioned. She meddles, he frets, and they continue doggedly in their mismatched marriage.

I loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Elizabeth

Newbury, United Kingdom

1/6/13

Overall

"Brilliant"

I am working my way through the complete Palliser series, of which this is the fifth of six. Timothy West is a total revelation, each character beautifully and consistently voiced throughout the entire series. I find Trollope's characters engaging and the stories brilliantly told. Sometimes the political stuff can get a bit tedious but this is a small criticism when the series is giving me so much joy.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Julie

Sydney, Australia

8/29/11

Overall

"Part of a great series"

This is a weakish book in Trollope's great Palliser series, beautifully read by Timothy West.

I am pleased I listened to follow the story through, not a waste of time at all, and anything with this narrator is worth hearing, but the other volumes in the series are so much better books.

1 of 3 people found this review helpful

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